A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and/or other devices may be used to provide long-term support for heart failure patients or patients suffering from other heart related conditions. Traditionally, many such devices assist heart functioning by generating a continuous blood flow using a constant pumping speed set by clinician based on the patient's physiologic conditions at that time when the particular device is implanted.
However, the natural cardiac cycle of a human being (or other animals) does not usually generate a continuous and constant blood flow. Instead, flow is highest during the systole of a cardiac cycle, and then decreased during the diastole of the cardiac cycle. Thus the heart and the implanted device operate in different fashions (i.e., non-constant versus constant flow) which may be detrimental to the patient.
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for determining characteristics of a cardiac cycle, so that operation of LVAD and/or other devices may be altered in a dynamic manner when used in a human or other animal experiencing heart related conditions.